Temperature control in an aerosol delivery device

ABSTRACT

An aerosol delivery device is provided that includes a power source, a heating element, a switch coupled to and between the power source and the heating element, and processing circuitry coupled to the switch. The processing circuitry outputs a PWM signal during a heating time period to cause the switch to switchably connect and disconnect the output voltage to the heating element to power the heating element. The processing circuitry outputs a pulse of known current to the heating element, and measure voltage across the heating element, between adjacent pulses of the PWM signal. And the processing circuitry calculates the resistance of the heating element based on the known current and the voltage, calculates the temperature of the heating element based on the resistance, and adjusts a duty cycle of the PWM signal when the temperature deviates from a predetermined target.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/668,929, entitled Temperature Control in an Aerosol DeliveryDevice, filed Oct. 30, 2019, which claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/769,296, entitled: Management System forControl Functions in a Vaporization System, filed on Nov. 19, 2018, andU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/911,595, entitled:Temperature Control in an Aerosol Delivery Device, filed on Oct. 7,2019, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices such assmoking articles that produce aerosol. The smoking articles may beconfigured to heat or dispense an aerosol precursor or otherwise producean aerosol from an aerosol precursor, which may incorporate materialsthat may be made or derived from tobacco or otherwise incorporatetobacco, the precursor being capable of forming an inhalable substancefor human consumption.

BACKGROUND

Many smoking devices have been proposed through the years asimprovements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products that requirecombusting tobacco for use. Many of those devices purportedly have beendesigned to provide the sensations associated with cigarette, cigar, orpipe smoking, but without delivering considerable quantities ofincomplete combustion and pyrolysis products that result from theburning of tobacco. To this end, there have been proposed numeroussmoking products, flavor generators, and medicinal inhalers that utilizeelectrical energy to vaporize or heat a volatile material, or attempt toprovide the sensations of cigarette, cigar, or pipe smoking withoutburning tobacco to a significant degree. See, for example, the variousalternative smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, and heatgenerating sources set forth in the background art described in U.S.Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2013/0255702to Griffith Jr. et al., and U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2014/0096781 to Sears etal., which are incorporated herein by reference. See also, for example,the various types of smoking articles, aerosol delivery devices, andelectrically powered heat generating sources referenced by brand nameand commercial source in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2015/0216232 to Bless etal., which is incorporated herein by reference.

However, it may be desirable to provide aerosol delivery devices withimproved electronics such as may extend usability of the devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices configured toproduce aerosol and which aerosol delivery devices, in someimplementations, may be referred to as electronic cigarettes,heat-not-burn cigarettes (or devices), or no-heat-no-burn devices. Thepresent disclosure includes, without limitation, the following exampleimplementations.

Some example implementations provide an aerosol delivery devicecomprising: a power source configured to provide an output voltage; aheating element powerable to vaporize components of an aerosol precursorcomposition and thereby produce an aerosol, the heating element having aresistance that is variable and proportional to a temperature of theheating element; a switch coupled to and between the power source andthe heating element; and processing circuitry coupled to the switch, andconfigured to output a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal during aheating time period to cause the switch to switchably connect anddisconnect the output voltage to the heating element to power theheating element, the PWM signal including pulses over which the outputvoltage to the heating element is connected, and between which theoutput voltage to the heating element is disconnected, wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to output a pulse of knowncurrent to the heating element, and measure voltage across the heatingelement, between adjacent pulses of the PWM signal, and wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to calculate the resistance of theheating element based on the known current and the voltage, calculatethe temperature of the heating element based on the resistance, andadjust a duty cycle of the PWM signal when the temperature deviates froma predetermined target.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry being configured toadjust the duty cycle of the PWM signal includes being configured toincrease or decrease the duty cycle of the PWM signal when thetemperature is respectively below or above the predetermined target.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry configured to outputthe pulse includes the processing circuitry configured to output pulsesof the known current, interspersed between the pulses of the PWM signal,the processing circuitry configured to measure the voltage across theheating element for each of the pulses.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the pulse of known current that is output tothe heating element causes the voltage across the heating element to beproduced, and the known current is selected such that the voltage isless than one-half the output voltage provided by the power source.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, outside the heating time period in which thePWM signal is absent and the output voltage to the heating element isdisconnected, the processing circuitry is further configured to output asecond pulse of the known current to the heating element, and measure asecond voltage across the heating element, wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to calculate a nominal resistance of the heatingelement based on the known current and the second voltage, and calculatea nominal temperature of the heating element based on nominalresistance, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured tocalculate the temperature of the heating element further based on thenominal temperature of the heating element.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry is further configuredto calculate a quantity of heat at the heating element during theheating time period, and execute a lockout of the heating element whenthe quantity of heat at the heating element is greater than a thresholdquantity of heat.

Some example implementations provide an aerosol delivery devicecomprising: a power source configured to provide an output voltage; aheating element powerable to vaporize components of an aerosol precursorcomposition and thereby produce an aerosol; a switch coupled to andbetween the power source and the heating element; and processingcircuitry coupled to the switch, and configured to output a pulse-widthmodulation (PWM) signal during a heating time period to cause the switchto switchably connect and disconnect the output voltage to the heatingelement to power the heating element, the PWM signal including pulsesover which the output voltage to the heating element is connected, andbetween which the output voltage to the heating element is disconnected,wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to calculate aquantity of heat at the heating element during the heating time period,and execute a lockout of the heating element when the quantity of heatat the heating element is greater than a threshold quantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry configured tocalculate the quantity of heat at the heating element includes theprocessing circuitry configured to repeatedly calculate the quantity ofheat at the heating element during the heating time period.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the heating time period is initiated by a userpuff that causes a flow of air through at least a portion of the aerosoldelivery device, and wherein the processing circuitry configured tocalculate the quantity of heat at the heating element includes theprocessing circuitry configured to at least: measure a heating currentthrough and a heating voltage across the heating element; calculate afirst quantity of heat added to the heating element based on the heatingcurrent, the heating voltage, an elapsed time, and the duty cycle of thePWM signal; determine a second quantity of heat removed from the heatingelement by forced convection due to the flow of air caused by the userpuff; and calculate the quantity of heat at the heating element based onthe first quantity of heat and the second quantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry configured to executethe lockout of the heating element includes the processing circuitryconfigured to at least: interrupt the PWM signal to cause the switch todisconnect the output voltage to the heating element; and keep theoutput voltage to the heating element disconnected until the quantity ofheat at the heating element is a quantity less than the thresholdquantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the processing circuitry configured to executethe lockout of the heating element further includes the processingcircuitry configured to at least: determine a third quantity of heatremoved from the heating element by natural convection due to exposureof the heating element to ambient air; and calculate a quantity of anyremaining heat at the heating element from the heating time period,based on the quantity of heat at the heating element, and the thirdquantity of heat, the processing circuitry configured to keep the outputvoltage to the heating element disconnected until the quantity of anyremaining heat at the heating element is the quantity less than thethreshold quantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the aerosol delivery device of anypreceding example implementation, or any combination of any precedingexample implementations, the user puff is one of a plurality of userpuffs that also includes a second user puff that causes a second flow ofair through at least a portion of the aerosol delivery device, and thatinitiates a second heating time period, wherein between the heating timeperiod and the second heating time period, the processing circuitry isfurther configured to at least: determine a third quantity of heatremoved from the heating element by natural convection due to exposureof the heating element to ambient air; and calculate a quantity of anyremaining heat at the heating element from the heating time period,based on the quantity of heat at the heating element, and the thirdquantity of heat, and wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to calculate the quantity of heat at the heating elementduring the second heating time period, based on the quantity of anyremaining heat at the heating element from the heating time period.

Some example implementations provide a method of controlling an aerosoldelivery device including a power source configured to provide an outputvoltage, and a heating element powerable to vaporize components of anaerosol precursor composition and thereby produce an aerosol, theheating element having a resistance that is variable and proportional toa temperature of the heating element, the method comprising: switchablyconnecting and disconnecting the output voltage to the heating elementto power the heating element according to a pulse-width modulation (PWM)signal, the PWM signal including pulses over which the output voltage tothe heating element is connected, and between which the output voltageto the heating element is disconnected; outputting a pulse of knowncurrent to the heating element, and measuring voltage across the heatingelement, between adjacent pulses of the PWM signal; calculating theresistance of the heating element based on the known current and thevoltage; calculating the temperature of the heating element based on theresistance; and adjusting a duty cycle of the PWM signal when thetemperature deviates from a predetermined target.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, adjusting the duty cycle of the PWM signal includesincreasing or decreasing the duty cycle of the PWM signal when thetemperature is respectively below or above the predetermined target.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, outputting the pulse includes outputting pulses of theknown current, interspersed between the pulses of the PWM signal, thevoltage across the heating element measured for each of the pulses.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the pulse of known current that is output to theheating element causes the voltage across the heating element to beproduced, and the method further comprises selecting the known currentsuch that the voltage is less than one-half the output voltage providedby the power source.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, outside the heating time period in which the PWM signalis absent and the output voltage to the heating element is disconnected,the method further comprises: outputting a second pulse of the knowncurrent to the heating element, and measuring a second voltage acrossthe heating element; calculating a nominal resistance of the heatingelement based on the known current and the second voltage; andcalculating a nominal temperature of the heating element based onnominal resistance, and wherein the temperature of the heating elementis calculated further based on the nominal temperature of the heatingelement.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the method further comprises: calculating a quantity ofheat at the heating element during the heating time period; andexecuting a lockout of the heating element when the quantity of heat atthe heating element is greater than a threshold quantity of heat.

Some example implementations provide a method of controlling an aerosoldelivery device including a power source configured to provide an outputvoltage, and a heating element powerable to vaporize components of anaerosol precursor composition and thereby produce an aerosol, the methodcomprising: switchably connecting and disconnecting the output voltageto the heating element to power the heating element according to apulse-width modulation (PWM) signal, the PWM signal including pulsesover which the output voltage to the heating element is connected, andbetween which the output voltage to the heating element is disconnected;calculating a quantity of heat at the heating element during the heatingtime period; and executing a lockout of the heating element when thequantity of heat at the heating element is greater than a thresholdquantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, calculating the quantity of heat at the heating elementincludes repeatedly calculating the quantity of heat at the heatingelement during the heating time period.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the heating time period is initiated by a user puffthat causes a flow of air through at least a portion of the aerosoldelivery device, and wherein calculating the quantity of heat at theheating element includes at least: measuring a heating current throughand a heating voltage across the heating element; calculating a firstquantity of heat added to the heating element based on the heatingcurrent, the heating voltage, an elapsed time, and the duty cycle of thePWM signal; determining a second quantity of heat removed from theheating element by forced convection due to the flow of air caused bythe user puff; and calculating the quantity of heat at the heatingelement based on the first quantity of heat and the second quantity ofheat.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, executing the lockout of the heating element includesat least: interrupting the PWM signal to disconnect the output voltageto the heating element; and keeping the output voltage to the heatingelement disconnected until the quantity of heat at the heating elementis a quantity less than the threshold quantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, executing the lockout of the heating element furtherincludes at least: determining a third quantity of heat removed from theheating element by natural convection due to exposure of the heatingelement to ambient air; and calculating a quantity of any remaining heatat the heating element from the heating time period, based on thequantity of heat at the heating element, and the third quantity of heat,keeping the output voltage to the heating element disconnected includeskeeping the output voltage to the heating element disconnected until thequantity of any remaining heat at the heating element is the quantityless than the threshold quantity of heat.

In some example implementations of the method of any preceding exampleimplementation, or any combination of any preceding exampleimplementations, the user puff is one of a plurality of user puffs thatalso includes a second user puff that causes a second flow of airthrough at least a portion of the aerosol delivery device, and thatinitiates a second heating time period, wherein between the heating timeperiod and the second heating time period, the method further comprisesto at least: determining a third quantity of heat removed from theheating element by natural convection due to exposure of the heatingelement to ambient air; and calculating a quantity of any remaining heatat the heating element from the heating time period, based on thequantity of heat at the heating element, and the third quantity of heat,and wherein the method further comprises calculating the quantity ofheat at the heating element during the second heating time period, basedon the quantity of any remaining heat at the heating element from theheating time period.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detaileddescription together with the accompanying figures, which are brieflydescribed below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two,three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure,regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combinedor otherwise recited in a specific example implementation describedherein. This disclosure is intended to be read holistically such thatany separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of itsaspects and example implementations, should be viewed as combinable,unless the context of the disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is providedmerely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure.Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described exampleimplementations are merely examples and should not be construed tonarrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other exampleimplementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying figures which illustrate, by way of example, the principlesof some described example implementations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Having thus described aspects of the disclosure in the foregoing generalterms, reference will now be made to the accompanying figures, which arenot necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate respectively a perspective view and a partiallycut-away side view of an aerosol delivery device including a cartridgeand a control body that are coupled to one another, according to anexample implementation of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a perspective view of an aerosol deliverydevice comprising a control body and an aerosol source member that arerespectively coupled to one another and decoupled from one another,according to another example implementation of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate respectively a front view of and a sectionalview through the aerosol delivery device of FIGS. 3 and 4 , according toan example implementation;

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate circuit diagrams of aerosol delivery devicesaccording to various example implementations of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate respectively an example pulse-width modulation(PWM) signal according to some examples, and the example PWM signalsuperimposed with measurements of voltage across a heating element,according to some examples;

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate processing circuitry according to variousexample implementations; and

FIGS. 13 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating various operations inmethods of controlling an aerosol delivery device, according to variousexample implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to example implementations thereof. These exampleimplementations are described so that this disclosure will be thoroughand complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to thoseskilled in the art. Indeed, the disclosure may be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. As used in the specification and the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” “the” and the like include plural referentsunless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, while reference maybe made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationshipsor the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all ofthese may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptablevariations that may occur, such as those due to engineering tolerancesor the like.

As described hereinafter, the present disclosure relates to aerosoldelivery devices. Aerosol delivery devices may be configured to producean aerosol (an inhalable substance) from an aerosol precursorcomposition (sometimes referred to as an inhalable substance medium).The aerosol precursor composition may comprise one or more of a solidtobacco material, a semi-solid tobacco material, or a liquid aerosolprecursor composition. In some implementations, the aerosol deliverydevices may be configured to heat and produce an aerosol from a fluidaerosol precursor composition (e.g., a liquid aerosol precursorcomposition). Such aerosol delivery devices may include so-calledelectronic cigarettes. In other implementations, the aerosol deliverydevices may comprise heat-not-burn devices. In yet otherimplementations, the aerosol delivery devices may compriseno-heat-no-burn devices.

Liquid aerosol precursor composition, also referred to as a vaporprecursor composition or “e-liquid,” is particularly useful forelectronic cigarettes and no-heat-no-burn devices, as well as otherdevices that atomize or otherwise aerosolize a liquid to generate aninhalable aerosol. Liquid aerosol precursor composition may comprise avariety of components including, by way of example, a polyhydric alcohol(e.g., glycerin (including vegetable glycerin), propylene glycol, or amixture thereof), nicotine, tobacco, tobacco extract, and/or flavorants.In some examples, the aerosol precursor composition comprises glycerinand nicotine.

Some liquid aerosol precursor compositions that may be used inconjunction with various implementations may include one or more acidssuch as levulinic acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, pyruvic acid,benzoic acid, fumaric acid, combinations thereof, and the like.Inclusion of an acid(s) in liquid aerosol precursor compositionsincluding nicotine may provide a protonated liquid aerosol precursorcomposition, including nicotine in salt form. Representative types ofliquid aerosol precursor components and formulations are set forth andcharacterized in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al.; U.S. Pat.No. 9,254,002 to Chong et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2013/0008457to Zheng et al., 2015/0020823 to Lipowicz et al., and 2015/0020830 toKoller; as well as PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2014/182736 to Bowen etal.; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,881,737 to Collett et al., the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. Other aerosol precursorsthat may be employed include the aerosol precursors that have beenincorporated in any of a number of the representative productsidentified above. Also desirable are the so-called “smoke juices” forelectronic cigarettes that have been available from Johnson CreekEnterprises LLC. Still further example aerosol precursor compositionsare sold under the brand names BLACK NOTE, COSMIC FOG, THE MILKMANE-LIQUID, FIVE PAWNS, THE VAPOR CHEF, VAPE WILD, BOOSTED, THE STEAMFACTORY, MECH SAUCE, CASEY JONES MAINLINE RESERVE, MITTEN VAPORS, DR.CRIMMY'S V-LIQUID, SMILEY E LIQUID, BEANTOWN VAPOR, CUTTWOOD, CYCLOPSVAPOR, SICBOY, GOOD LIFE VAPOR, TELEOS, PINUP VAPORS, SPACE JAM, MT.BAKER VAPOR, and JIMMY THE JUICE MAN. Implementations of effervescentmaterials can be used with the aerosol precursor, and are described, byway of example, in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0055494 to Hunt et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference. Further, the use ofeffervescent materials is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.4,639,368 to Niazi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,878 to Wehling et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 5,223,264 to Wehling et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,974,590 toPather et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,381,667 to Bergquist et al.; U.S. Pat.No. 8,424,541 to Crawford et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,627,828 to Stricklandet al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 9,307,787 to Sun et al.; as well as U.S. Pat.App. Pub. Nos. 2010/0018539 to Brinkley et al., and PCT Pat. App. Pub.No. WO 97/06786 to Johnson et al., all of which are incorporated byreference herein.

The aerosol precursor composition may additionally or alternativelyinclude other active ingredients including, but not limited to,botanical ingredients (e.g., lavender, peppermint, chamomile, basil,rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, ginger, cannabis, ginseng, maca, andtisanes), stimulants (e.g., caffeine and guarana), amino acids (e.g.,taurine, theanine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan) and/orpharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medicinal ingredients (e.g.,vitamins, such as B6, B12, and C and cannabinoids, such astetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

Representative types of substrates, reservoirs or other components forsupporting the aerosol precursor are described in U.S. Pat. No.8,528,569 to Newton; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261487 to Chapman etal.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0059780 to Davis et al.; and U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2015/0216232 to Bless et al., all of which areincorporated herein by reference. Additionally, various wickingmaterials, and the configuration and operation of those wickingmaterials within certain types of electronic cigarettes, are set forthin U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,640 to Sears et al., which is incorporated hereinby reference.

In other implementations, the aerosol delivery devices may compriseheat-not-burn devices, configured to heat a solid aerosol precursorcomposition (e.g., an extruded tobacco rod) or a semi-solid aerosolprecursor composition (e.g., a glycerin-loaded tobacco paste). Theaerosol precursor composition may comprise tobacco-containing beads,tobacco shreds, tobacco strips, reconstituted tobacco material, orcombinations thereof, and/or a mix of finely ground tobacco, tobaccoextract, spray dried tobacco extract, or other tobacco form mixed withoptional inorganic materials (such as calcium carbonate), optionalflavors, and aerosol forming materials to form a substantially solid ormoldable (e.g., extrudable) substrate. Representative types of solid andsemi-solid aerosol precursor compositions and formulations are disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,424,538 to Thomas et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,464,726 toSebastian et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0083150 to Conner et al.;U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0157052 to Ademe et al.; and U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2017/0000188 to Nordskog et al., all of which are incorporatedby reference herein. Further representative types of solid andsemi-solid aerosol precursor compositions and arrangements include thosefound in the NEOSTIKS™ consumable aerosol source members for the GLO™product by British American Tobacco and in the HEETS™ consumable aerosolsource members for the IQOS™ product by Philip Morris International,Inc.

In various implementations, the inhalable substance specifically may bea tobacco component or a tobacco-derived material (i.e., a material thatis found naturally in tobacco that may be isolated directly from thetobacco or synthetically prepared). For example, the aerosol precursorcomposition may comprise tobacco extracts or fractions thereof combinedwith an inert substrate. The aerosol precursor composition may furthercomprise unburned tobacco or a composition containing unburned tobaccothat, when heated to a temperature below its combustion temperature,releases an inhalable substance. In some implementations, the aerosolprecursor composition may comprise tobacco condensates or fractionsthereof (i.e., condensed components of the smoke produced by thecombustion of tobacco, leaving flavors and, possibly, nicotine).

Tobacco materials useful in the present disclosure can vary and mayinclude, for example, flue-cured tobacco, burley tobacco, Orientaltobacco or Maryland tobacco, dark tobacco, dark-fired tobacco andRustica tobaccos, as well as other rare or specialty tobaccos, or blendsthereof. Tobacco materials also can include so-called “blended” formsand processed forms, such as processed tobacco stems (e.g., cut-rolledor cut-puffed stems), volume expanded tobacco (e.g., puffed tobacco,such as dry ice expanded tobacco (DIET), preferably in cut filler form),reconstituted tobaccos (e.g., reconstituted tobaccos manufactured usingpaper-making type or cast sheet type processes). Various representativetobacco types, processed types of tobaccos, and types of tobacco blendsare set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,224 to Lawson et al., U.S. Pat. No.4,924,888 to Perfetti et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,537 to Brown et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,942 to Brinkley et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,930 toGentry, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,023 to Blakley et al., U.S. Pat. No.6,701,936 to Shafer et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,096 to Li et al., U.S.Pat. No. 7,017,585 to Li et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,066 to Lawsonet al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2004/0255965 to Perfetti et al.; PCTPat. App. Pub. No. WO 02/37990 to Bereman; and Bombick et al., Fund.Appl. Toxicol., 39, p. 11-17 (1997), which are incorporated herein byreference. Further example tobacco compositions that may be useful in asmoking device, including according to the present disclosure, aredisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al., which isincorporated herein by reference.

Still further, the aerosol precursor composition may comprise an inertsubstrate having the inhalable substance, or a precursor thereof,integrated therein or otherwise deposited thereon. For example, a liquidcomprising the inhalable substance may be coated on or absorbed oradsorbed into the inert substrate such that, upon application of heat,the inhalable substance is released in a form that can be withdrawn fromthe inventive article through application of positive or negativepressure. In some aspects, the aerosol precursor composition maycomprise a blend of flavorful and aromatic tobaccos in cut filler form.In another aspect, the aerosol precursor composition may comprise areconstituted tobacco material, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.4,807,809 to Pryor et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,143 to Pryor et al.; andU.S. Pat. No. 5,025,814 to Raker, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference. For further information regardingsuitable aerosol precursor composition, see U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/916,834 to Sur et al., filed Mar. 9, 2018, which is incorporatedherein by reference.

Regardless of the type of aerosol precursor composition, aerosoldelivery devices may include an aerosol production component configuredto produce an aerosol from the aerosol precursor composition. In thecase of an electronic cigarette or a heat-not-burn device, for example,the aerosol production component may be or include a heating element (attimes referred to as a heating member). In the case of a no-heat-no-burndevice, in some examples, the aerosol production component may be orinclude at least one vibratable piezoelectric or piezomagnetic mesh.

One example of a suitable heating element is an induction heater. Suchheaters often comprise an induction transmitter and an inductionreceiver. The induction transmitter may include a coil configured tocreate an oscillating magnetic field (e.g., a magnetic field that variesperiodically with time) when alternating current is directed through it.The induction receiver may be at least partially located or receivedwithin the induction transmitter and may include a conductive material(e.g., ferromagnetic material or an aluminum coated material). Bydirecting alternating current through the induction transmitter, eddycurrents may be generated in the induction receiver via induction. Theeddy currents flowing through the resistance of the material definingthe induction receiver may heat it by Joule heating (i.e., through theJoule effect). The induction receiver, which may define an atomizer, maybe wirelessly heated to form an aerosol from an aerosol precursorcomposition positioned in proximity to the induction receiver. Variousimplementations of an aerosol delivery device with an induction heaterare described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0127722 to Davis et al.;U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0202266 to Sur et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 756=45687:86 to Sur et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 756>45679> < >to Sebastian et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 756>456<9=78 to Sur,all of which are incorporated by reference herein.

In other implementations including those described more particularlyherein, the heating element is a conductive heater such as in the caseof electrical resistance heater. These heaters may be configured toproduce heat when an electrical current is directed through it. Invarious implementations, a conductive heater may be provided in avariety forms, such as in the form of a foil, a foam, a plate, discs,spirals, fibers, wires, films, yarns, strips, ribbons or cylinders. Suchheaters often include a metal material and are configured to produceheat as a result of the electrical resistance associated with passing anelectrical current through it. Such resistive heaters may be positionedin proximity to and heat an aerosol precursor composition to produce anaerosol. A variety of conductive substrates that may be usable with thepresent disclosure are described in the above-cited U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2013/0255702 to Griffith et al. Other examples of suitable heatersare described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,491,974 to DePiano et al., which isincorporated by reference herein.

In some implementations aerosol delivery devices may include a controlbody, sometimes referred to as a power unit or control device. Theaerosol delivery devices may also include a cartridge in the case ofso-called electronic cigarettes or no-heat-no-burn devices, or anaerosol source member in the case of heat-not-burn devices. In the caseof either electronic cigarettes or heat-not-burn devices, the controlbody may be reusable, whereas the cartridge/aerosol source member may beconfigured for a limited number of uses and/or configured to bedisposable. Various mechanisms may connect the cartridge/aerosol sourcemember to the control body to result in a threaded engagement, apress-fit engagement, an interference fit, a sliding fit, a magneticengagement, or the like.

The control body and cartridge/aerosol source member may includeseparate, respective housings or outer bodies, which may be formed ofany of a number of different materials. The housing may be formed of anysuitable, structurally-sound material. In some examples, the housing maybe formed of a metal or alloy, such as stainless steel, aluminum or thelike. Other suitable materials include various plastics (e.g.,polycarbonate), metal-plating over plastic, ceramics and the like.

The cartridge/aerosol source member may include the aerosol precursorcomposition. In order to produce aerosol from the aerosol precursorcomposition, the aerosol production component (e.g., heating element,piezoelectric/piezomagnetic mesh) may be positioned in contact with orproximate the aerosol precursor composition, such as across the controlbody and cartridge, or in the control body in which the aerosol sourcemember may be positioned. The control body may include a power source,which may be rechargeable or replaceable, and thereby the control bodymay be reused with multiple cartridges/aerosol source members.

The control body may also include means to activate the aerosol deliverydevice such as a pushbutton, touch-sensitive surface or the like formanual control of the device. Additionally or alternatively, the controlbody may include a flow sensor to detect when a user draws on thecartridge/aerosol source member to thereby activate the aerosol deliverydevice.

In various implementations, the aerosol delivery device according to thepresent disclosure may have a variety of overall shapes, including, butnot limited to an overall shape that may be defined as beingsubstantially rod-like or substantially tubular shaped or substantiallycylindrically shaped. In the implementations shown in and described withreference to the accompanying figures, the aerosol delivery device has asubstantially round cross-section; however, other cross-sectional shapes(e.g., oval, square, rectangle, triangle, etc.) also are encompassed bythe present disclosure. Such language that is descriptive of thephysical shape of the article may also be applied to the individualcomponents thereof, including the control body and the cartridge/aerosolsource member. In other implementations, the control body may takeanother handheld shape, such as a small box shape.

In more specific implementations, one or both of the control body andthe cartridge/aerosol source member may be referred to as beingdisposable or as being reusable. For example, the control body may havea power source such as a replaceable battery or a rechargeable battery,SSB, thin-film SSB, rechargeable supercapacitor, lithium-ion or hybridlithium-ion supercapacitor, or the like. One example of a power sourceis a TKI-1550 rechargeable lithium-ion battery produced by TadiranBatteries GmbH of Germany. In another implementation, a useful powersource may be a N50-AAA CADNICA nickel-cadmium cell produced by SanyoElectric Company, Ltd., of Japan. In other implementations, a pluralityof such batteries, for example providing 1.2-volts each, may beconnected in series.

In some examples, then, the power source may be connected to and therebycombined with any type of recharging technology. Examples of suitablechargers include chargers that simply supply constant or pulsed directcurrent (DC) power to the power source, fast chargers that add controlcircuitry, three-stage chargers, induction-powered chargers, smartchargers, motion-powered chargers, pulsed chargers, solar chargers,USB-based chargers and the like. In some examples, the charger includesa power adapter and any suitable charge circuitry. In other examples,the charger includes the power adapter and the control body is equippedwith charge circuitry. In these other examples, the charger may at timesbe simply referred to as a power adapter.

The control body may include any of a number of different terminals,electrical connectors or the like to connect to a suitable charger, andin some examples, to connect to other peripherals for communication.More specific suitable examples include direct current (DC) connectorssuch as cylindrical connectors, cigarette lighter connectors and USBconnectors including those specified by USB 1.x (e.g., Type A, Type B),USB 2.0 and its updates and additions (e.g., Mini A, Mini B, Mini AB,Micro A, Micro B, Micro AB) and USB 3.x (e.g., Type A, Type B, Micro B,Micro AB, Type C), proprietary connectors such as Apple's Lightningconnector, and the like. The control body may directly connect with thecharger or other peripheral, or the two may connect via an appropriatecable that also has suitable connectors. In examples in which the twoare connected by cable, the control body and charger or other peripheralmay have the same or different type of connector with the cable havingthe one type of connector or both types of connectors.

In examples involving induction-powered charging, the aerosol deliverydevice may be equipped with inductive wireless charging technology andinclude an induction receiver to connect with a wireless charger,charging pad or the like that includes an induction transmitter and usesinductive wireless charging (including for example, wireless chargingaccording to the Qi wireless charging standard from the Wireless PowerConsortium (WPC)). Or the power source may be recharged from a wirelessradio frequency (RF) based charger. An example of an inductive wirelesscharging system is described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0112196 toSur et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Further, in some implementations in the case of an electronic cigarette,the cartridge may comprise a single-use cartridge, as disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 8,910,639 to Chang et al., which is incorporated herein byreference.

One or more connections may be employed to connect the power source to arecharging technology, and some may involve a charging case, cradle,dock, sleeve or the like. More specifically, for example, the controlbody may be configured to engage a cradle that includes a USB connectorto connect to a power supply. Or in another example, the control bodymay be configured to fit within and engage a sleeve that includes a USBconnector to connect to a power supply. In these and similar examples,the USB connector may connect directly to the power source, or the USBconnector may connect to the power source via a suitable power adapter.

Examples of power sources are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,484,155 toPeckerar et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0112191 to Sur et al.,filed Oct. 21, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference. Other examples of a suitable power source are provided inU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0283855 to Hawes et al., U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2014/0014125 to Fernando et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2013/0243410 to Nichols et al., U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0313901 toFernando et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 9,439,454 to Fernando et al., all ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference. With respect to the flowsensor, representative current regulating components and other currentcontrolling components including various microcontrollers, sensors, andswitches for aerosol delivery devices are described in U.S. Pat. No.4,735,217 to Gerth et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,922,901, 4,947,874, and4,947,875, all to Brooks et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCaffertyet al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al.; U.S. Pat. No.7,040,314 to Nguyen et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,205,622 to Pan; U.S. Pat.No. 8,881,737 to Collet et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,423,152 to Ampolini etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,439,454 to Fernando et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2015/0257445 to Henry et al., all of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

An input device may be included with the aerosol delivery device (andmay replace or supplement a flow sensor). The input may be included toallow a user to control functions of the device and/or for output ofinformation to a user. Any component or combination of components may beutilized as an input for controlling the function of the device.Suitable input devices include pushbuttons, touch switches or othertouch sensitive surfaces. For example, one or more pushbuttons may beused as described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0245658 to Worm etal., which is incorporated herein by reference. Likewise, a touchscreenmay be used as described in U.S. Pat. No. 10,172,388 to Sears et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference.

As a further example, components adapted for gesture recognition basedon specified movements of the aerosol delivery device may be used as aninput device. See U.S. Pat App. Pub. 2016/0158782 to Henry et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference. As still a further example, acapacitive sensor may be implemented on the aerosol delivery device toenable a user to provide input, such as by touching a surface of thedevice on which the capacitive sensor is implemented. In anotherexample, a sensor capable of detecting a motion associated with thedevice (e.g., accelerometer, gyroscope, photoelectric proximity sensor,etc.) may be implemented on the aerosol delivery device to enable a userto provide input. Examples of suitable sensors are described in U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2018/0132528 to Sur et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2016/0158782 to Henry et al., which are incorporated herein byreference.

As indicated above, the aerosol delivery device may include variouselectronics such as at least one control component. A suitable controlcomponent may include a number of electronic components, and in someexamples may be formed of a circuit board such as a printed circuitboard (PCB). In some examples, the electronic components includeprocessing circuitry configured to perform data processing, applicationexecution, or other processing, control or management services accordingto one or more example implementations. The processing circuitry mayinclude a processor embodied in a variety of forms such as at least oneprocessor core, microprocessor, coprocessor, controller, microcontrolleror various other computing or processing devices including one or moreintegrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specificintegrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), somecombination thereof, or the like. In some examples, the processingcircuitry may include memory coupled to or integrated with theprocessor, and which may store data, computer program instructionsexecutable by the processor, some combination thereof, or the like.

In some examples, the control component may include one or moreinput/output peripherals, which may be coupled to or integrated with theprocessing circuitry. More particularly, the control component mayinclude a communication interface to enable wireless communication withone or more networks, computing devices or other appropriately-enableddevices. Examples of suitable communication interfaces are disclosed inU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2016/0261020 to Marion et al., the content ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference. Another example of a suitablecommunication interface is the CC3200 single chip wirelessmicrocontroller unit (MCU) from Texas Instruments. And examples ofsuitable manners according to which the aerosol delivery device may beconfigured to wirelessly communicate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2016/0007651 to Ampolini et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2016/0219933 to Henry, Jr. et al., each of which is incorporated hereinby reference.

Still further components can be utilized in the aerosol delivery deviceof the present disclosure. One example of a suitable component is alight source such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), quantum dot-basedLEDs or the like, which may be illuminated with use of the aerosoldelivery device. Examples of suitable LED components, and theconfigurations and uses thereof, are described in U.S. Pat. No.5,154,192 to Sprinkel et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,499,766 to Newton; U.S.Pat. No. 8,539,959 to Scatterday; and U.S. Pat. No. 9,451,791 to Searset al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Other indices of operation are also encompassed by the presentdisclosure. For example, visual indicators of operation also includechanges in light color or intensity to show progression of the smokingexperience. Tactile (haptic) indicators of operation such as vibrationmotors, and sound (audio) indicators of operation such as speakers, aresimilarly encompassed by the disclosure. Moreover, combinations of suchindicators of operation also are suitable to be used in a single smokingarticle. According to another aspect, the aerosol delivery device mayinclude one or more indicators or indicia, such as, for example, adisplay configured to provide information corresponding to the operationof the smoking article such as, for example, the amount of powerremaining in the power source, progression of the smoking experience,indication corresponding to activating an aerosol production component,and/or the like.

Yet other components are also contemplated. For example, U.S. Pat. No.5,154,192 to Sprinkel et al. discloses indicators for smoking articles;U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,424 to Sprinkel, Jr. discloses piezoelectric sensorsthat can be associated with the mouth-end of a device to detect user lipactivity associated with taking a draw and then trigger heating of aheating device; U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al. discloses apuff sensor for controlling energy flow into a heating load array inresponse to pressure drop through a mouthpiece; U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,148to Harris et al. discloses receptacles in a smoking device that includean identifier that detects a non-uniformity in infrared transmissivityof an inserted component and a controller that executes a detectionroutine as the component is inserted into the receptacle; U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al. describes a defined executable powercycle with multiple differential phases; U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289 toWatkins et al. discloses photonic-optronic components; U.S. Pat. No.5,954,979 to Counts et al. discloses means for altering draw resistancethrough a smoking device; U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,545 to Blake et al.discloses specific battery configurations for use in smoking devices;U.S. Pat. No. 7,293,565 to Griffen et al. discloses various chargingsystems for use with smoking devices; U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,976 toFernando et al. discloses computer interfacing means for smoking devicesto facilitate charging and allow computer control of the device; U.S.Pat. No. 8,689,804 to Fernando et al. discloses identification systemsfor smoking devices; and PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2010/003480 by Flickdiscloses a fluid flow sensing system indicative of a puff in an aerosolgenerating system; all of the foregoing disclosures being incorporatedherein by reference.

Further examples of components related to electronic aerosol deliveryarticles and disclosing materials or components that may be used in thepresent article include U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,249,586 to Morgan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,977 to Higginset al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,176 to Adams et al.; U.S. 6,164,287 toWhite; U.S. Pat No. 6,196,218 to Voges; U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,883 toFelter et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,461 to Nichols; U.S. Pat. No.7,832,410 to Hon; U.S. Pat. No. 7,513,253 to Kobayashi; U.S. Pat. No.7,896,006 to Hamano; U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,756 to Shayan; U.S. Pat. No.8,156,944 and 8,375,957 to Hon; U.S. Pat. No. 8,794,231 to Thorens etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,083 to Oglesby et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,915,254and 8,925,555 to Monsees et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,302 to DePiano etal.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2006/0196518 and 2009/0188490 to Hon; U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0024834 to Oglesby et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2010/0307518 to Wang; PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2010/091593 to Hon;and PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2013/089551 to Foo, each of which isincorporated herein by reference. Further, U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2017/0099877 to Worm et al., discloses capsules that may be included inaerosol delivery devices and fob-shape configurations for aerosoldelivery devices, and is incorporated herein by reference. A variety ofthe materials disclosed by the foregoing documents may be incorporatedinto the present devices in various implementations, and all of theforegoing disclosures are incorporated herein by reference.

Yet other features, controls or components that can be incorporated intoaerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure are described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,967,148 to Harris et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289 to Watkinset al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,954,979 to Counts et al.; U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,365,742 to Hon; U.S.Pat. No. 8,402,976 to Fernando et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2005/0016550 to Katase; U.S. Pat. No. 8,689,804 to Fernando et al.; U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0192623 to Tucker et al.; U.S. Pat. No.9,427,022 to Leven et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2013/0180553 to Kimet al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0000638 to Sebastian et al.; U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2014/0261495 to Novak et al.; and U.S. Pat. No.9,220,302 to DePiano et al., all of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate implementations of an aerosol delivery deviceincluding a control body and a cartridge in the case of an electroniccigarette. In this regard, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an aerosol deliverydevice 100 according to an example implementation of the presentdisclosure. As indicated, the aerosol delivery device may include acontrol body 102 (also referred to as a power unit) and a cartridge 104.The control body and the cartridge can be permanently or detachablyaligned in a functioning relationship. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustraterespectively a perspective view and a partially cut-away side view ofthe aerosol delivery device in a coupled configuration.

The control body 102 and the cartridge 104 can be configured to engageone another by a variety of connections, such as a press fit (orinterference fit) connection, a threaded connection, a magneticconnection, or the like. As such, the control body may include a firstengaging element (e.g., a coupler) that is adapted to engage a secondengaging element (e.g., a connector) on the cartridge. The firstengaging element and the second engaging element may be reversible. Asan example, either of the first engaging element or the second engagingelement may be a male thread, and the other may be a female thread. As afurther example, either the first engaging element or the secondengaging element may be a magnet, and the other may be a metal or amatching magnet.

In particular implementations, engaging elements may be defined directlyby existing components of the control body 102 and the cartridge 104.For example, the housing of the control body may define a cavity at anend thereof that is configured to receive at least a portion of thecartridge (e.g., a storage tank or other shell-forming element of thecartridge). In particular, a storage tank of the cartridge may be atleast partially received within the cavity of the control body while amouthpiece of the cartridge remains exposed outside of the cavity of thecontrol body. The cartridge may be retained within the cavity formed bythe control body housing, such as by an interference fit (e.g., throughuse of detents and/or other features creating an interference engagementbetween an outer surface of the cartridge and an interior surface of awall forming the control body cavity), by a magnetic engagement (e.g.,though use of magnets and/or magnetic metals positioned within thecavity of the control body and positioned on the cartridge), or by othersuitable techniques.

As also shown in FIG. 1 , the aerosol delivery device 100 may include anindication window 106 defined on an outer housing of the control body102, and through which a user may be provided with a visual indication108 associated with a distinctive characteristic of the cartridge 104.Additionally or alternatively, the control body may include at least oneaperture 110 defined on the outer housing of the control body, andthrough which light from a light source (see FIG. 2 ) may be visible.

As seen in the cut-away view illustrated in FIG. 2 , the control body102 and cartridge 104 each include a number of respective components.The components illustrated in FIG. 2 are representative of thecomponents that may be present in a control body and cartridge and arenot intended to limit the scope of components that are encompassed bythe present disclosure. As shown, for example, the control body can beformed of a housing 206 (sometimes referred to as a control body shell)that can include a control component 208 (e.g., processing circuitry,etc.), a flow sensor 210, a power source 212 (e.g., battery,supercapacitor), and a light source 214 (e.g., LED, quantum dot-basedLED), and such components can be variably aligned. The power source maybe rechargeable, and the control body may include charging circuitrycoupled to and configured to controllably charge the power source.

The control body 102 also includes a cartridge receiving chamber 216,and the cartridge may be configured to be removably coupled with thecartridge receiving chamber. The control body may include electricalconnectors 218 positioned in the cartridge receiving chamber configuredto electrically couple the control body with the cartridge, and inparticular electrical contacts 220 on the cartridge. In this regard, theelectrical connectors and electrical contacts may form a connectioninterface of the control body and cartridge. As also shown, the controlbody may include an external electrical connector 222 to connect thecontrol body with one or more external devices. Examples of suitableexternal electrical connectors include USB connectors such as thosedescribed above, proprietary connectors such as Apple's Lightningconnector, and the like.

In various examples, the cartridge 104 includes a tank portion and amouthpiece portion. The cartridge, tank portion and/or mouthpieceportion may be separately defined in relation to a longitudinal axis(L), a first transverse axis (T1) that is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis, and a second transverse axis (T2) that isperpendicular to the longitudinal axis and is perpendicular to the firsttransverse axis. The cartridge can be formed of a housing 224 (sometimesreferred to as the cartridge shell) enclosing a reservoir 226 (in thetank portion) configured to retain the aerosol precursor composition,and including a heating element 228 (aerosol production component). Insome examples, the electrical connectors 218 on the control body 102 andelectrical contacts 220 on the cartridge may electrically connect theheating element with the control component 208 and/or power source 212of the cartridge. In various configurations, the structure of thecartridge may be referred to as a tank; and accordingly, the terms“cartridge,” “tank” and the like may be used interchangeably to refer toa shell or other housing enclosing a reservoir for aerosol precursorcomposition, and including a heating element.

As shown, in some examples, the reservoir 226 may be in fluidcommunication with a liquid transport element 230 adapted to wick orotherwise transport an aerosol precursor composition stored in thereservoir housing to the heating element 228. At least a portion of theliquid transport element may be positioned proximate (e.g., directlyadjacent, adjacent, in close proximity to, or in relatively closeproximity to) the heating element. The liquid transport element mayextend between the heating element and the aerosol precursor compositionstored in the reservoir 226, and at least a portion of the heatingelement may be located above a proximal end the reservoir. For thepurposes of the present disclosure, it should be understood that theterm “above” in this particular context should be interpreted as meaningtoward a proximal end of the reservoir and/or the cartridge 104 indirection substantially along the longitudinal axis (L). Otherarrangements of the liquid transport element are also contemplatedwithin the scope of the disclosure. For example, in some exampleimplementations, the liquid transport element may be positionedproximate a distal end of the reservoir and/or arranged transverse tothe longitudinal axis (L). For further examples of suitablearrangements, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/598,505 to Novaket al., filed Oct. 10, 2019, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The heating element 228 and liquid transport element 230 may beconfigured as separate elements that are fluidly connected, the heatingelement and liquid transport element or may be configured as a combinedelement. For example, in some implementations a heating element may beintegrated into a liquid transport element. Some examples of suchcomponents are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,833,364 to Buchberger andU.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0203057 to Buchberger, which areincorporated herein by reference. Moreover, the heating element and theliquid transport element may be formed of any construction as otherwisedescribed herein. In some examples, a valve may be positioned betweenthe reservoir 226 and heating element, and configured to control anamount of aerosol precursor composition passed or delivered from thereservoir to the heating element.

Various examples of materials configured to produce heat when electricalcurrent is applied therethrough may be employed to form the heatingelement 228. The heating element in these examples may be a resistiveheating element such as a wire coil, flat plate, micro heater or thelike. Example materials from which the heating element may be formedinclude Kanthal (FeCrAl), nichrome, nickel, stainless steel, indium tinoxide, tungsten, molybdenum disilicide (MoSi₂), molybdenum silicide(MoSi), molybdenum disilicide doped with aluminum (Mo(Si,Al)₂),titanium, platinum, silver, palladium, alloys of silver and palladium,graphite and graphite-based materials (e.g., carbon-based foams andyarns), conductive inks, boron doped silica, and ceramics (e.g.,positive or negative temperature coefficient ceramics). The heatingelement may be resistive heating element or a heating element configuredto generate heat through induction. The heating element may be coated byheat conductive ceramics such as aluminum nitride, silicon carbide,beryllium oxide, alumina, silicon nitride, or their composites. Exampleimplementations of heating elements useful in aerosol delivery devicesaccording to the present disclosure are further described below, and canbe incorporated into devices such as those described herein.

An opening 232 may be present in the housing 224 (e.g., at the mouth endof the mouthpiece portion) to allow for egress of formed aerosol fromthe cartridge 104.

The cartridge 104 also may include one or more electronic components,which may include an integrated circuit, a memory component (e.g.,EEPROM, flash memory), a sensor, or the like. The electronic componentsmay be adapted to communicate with the control component 208 and/or withan external device by wired or wireless means. The electronic componentsmay be positioned anywhere within the cartridge.

As indicated above, the control component 208 of the control body 102may include a number of electronic components, and in some examples maybe formed of a circuit board such as a PCB that supports andelectrically connects the electronic components. The flow sensor 210 maybe one of these electronic components or otherwise positioned on thecircuit board. In some examples, the air flow sensor may comprise itsown circuit board or other base element to which it can be attached. Insome examples, a flexible circuit board may be utilized. A flexiblecircuit board may be configured into a variety of shapes. In someexamples, a flexible circuit board may be combined with, layered onto,or form part or all of a heater substrate.

The reservoir 226 illustrated in FIG. 2 can be a container or can be afibrous reservoir, as presently described. For example, the reservoircan comprise one or more layers of nonwoven fibers substantially formedinto the shape of a tube encircling the interior of the housing 224, inthis example. An aerosol precursor composition can be retained in thereservoir. Liquid components, for example, can be sorptively retained bythe reservoir. The reservoir can be in fluid connection with the liquidtransport element 230. The liquid transport element can transport theaerosol precursor composition stored in the reservoir via capillaryaction—or via a micro pump—to the heating element 228 that is in theform of a metal wire coil in this example. As such, the heating elementis in a heating arrangement with the liquid transport element.

In some examples, a microfluidic chip may be embedded in the reservoir226, and the amount and/or mass of aerosol precursor compositiondelivered from the reservoir may be controlled by a micro pump, such asone based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Otherexample implementations of reservoirs and transport elements useful inaerosol delivery devices according to the present disclosure are furtherdescribed herein, and such reservoirs and/or transport elements can beincorporated into devices such as those described herein. In particular,specific combinations of heating elements and transport elements asfurther described herein may be incorporated into devices such as thosedescribed herein.

In use, when a user draws on the aerosol delivery device 100, airflow isdetected by the flow sensor 210, and the heating element 228 isactivated to vaporize components of the aerosol precursor composition.Drawing upon the mouth end of the aerosol delivery device causes ambientair to enter and pass through the aerosol delivery device. In thecartridge 104, the drawn air combines with the formed vapor to form anaerosol. The aerosol is whisked, aspirated or otherwise drawn away fromthe heating element and out the opening 232 in the mouth end of theaerosol delivery device.

For further detail regarding implementations of an aerosol deliverydevice including a control body and a cartridge in the case of anelectronic cigarette, see the above-cited U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/836,086 to Sur; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/916,834to Sur et al.; as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/916,696 toSur, filed Mar. 9, 2018; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/171,920to Aller et al., filed Oct. 26, 2018, all of which are also incorporatedherein by reference.

FIGS. 3-6 illustrate implementations of an aerosol delivery deviceincluding a control body and an aerosol source member in the case of aheat-not-burn device. More specifically, FIG. 3 illustrates an aerosoldelivery device 300 according to an example implementation of thepresent disclosure. The aerosol delivery device may include a controlbody 302 and an aerosol source member 304. In various implementations,the aerosol source member and the control body can be permanently ordetachably aligned in a functioning relationship. In this regard, FIG. 3illustrates the aerosol delivery device in a coupled configuration,whereas FIG. 4 illustrates the aerosol delivery device in a decoupledconfiguration.

As shown in FIG. 4 , in various implementations of the presentdisclosure, the aerosol source member 304 may comprise a heated end 406,which is configured to be inserted into the control body 302, and amouth end 408, upon which a user draws to create the aerosol. In variousimplementations, at least a portion of the heated end may include anaerosol precursor composition 410.

In various implementations, the aerosol source member 304, or a portionthereof, may be wrapped in an exterior overwrap material 412, which maybe formed of any material useful for providing additional structureand/or support for the aerosol source member. In variousimplementations, the exterior overwrap material may comprise a materialthat resists transfer of heat, which may include a paper or otherfibrous material, such as a cellulose material. The exterior overwrapmaterial may also include at least one filler material imbedded ordispersed within the fibrous material. In various implementations, thefiller material may have the form of water insoluble particles.Additionally, the filler material may incorporate inorganic components.In various implementations, the exterior overwrap may be formed ofmultiple layers, such as an underlying, bulk layer and an overlyinglayer, such as a typical wrapping paper in a cigarette. Such materialsmay include, for example, lightweight “rag fibers” such as flax, hemp,sisal, rice straw, and/or esparto. The exterior overwrap may alsoinclude a material typically used in a filter element of a conventionalcigarette, such as cellulose acetate. Further, an excess length of theoverwrap at the mouth end 408 of the aerosol source member may functionto simply separate the aerosol precursor composition 410 from the mouthof a consumer or to provide space for positioning of a filter material,as described below, or to affect draw on the article or to affect flowcharacteristics of the vapor or aerosol leaving the device during draw.Further discussion relating to the configurations for overwrap materialsthat may be used with the present disclosure may be found in theabove-cited U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,473 to Worm et al.

In various implementations other components may exist between theaerosol precursor composition 410 and the mouth end 408 of the aerosolsource member 304, wherein the mouth end may include a filter 414, whichmay, for example, be made of a cellulose acetate or polypropylenematerial. The filter may additionally or alternatively contain strandsof tobacco containing material, such as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,025,814 to Raker et al., which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. In various implementations, the filter may increase thestructural integrity of the mouth end of the aerosol source member,and/or provide filtering capacity, if desired, and/or provide resistanceto draw. In some implementations one or any combination of the followingmay be positioned between the aerosol precursor composition and themouth end: an air gap; phase change materials for cooling air; flavorreleasing media; ion exchange fibers capable of selective chemicaladsorption; aerogel particles as filter medium; and other suitablematerials.

Various implementations of the present disclosure employ one or moreconductive heating elements to heat the aerosol precursor composition410 of the aerosol source member 304. In various implementations, theheating element may be provided in a variety forms, such as in the formof a foil, a foam, a mesh, a hollow ball, a half ball, discs, spirals,fibers, wires, films, yarns, strips, ribbons, or cylinders. Such heatingelements often comprise a metal material and are configured to produceheat as a result of the electrical resistance associated with passing anelectrical current therethrough. Such resistive heating elements may bepositioned in direct contact with, or in proximity to, the aerosolsource member and particularly, the aerosol precursor composition of theaerosol source member. The heating element may be located in the controlbody and/or the aerosol source member. In various implementations, theaerosol precursor composition may include components (i.e., heatconducting constituents) that are imbedded in, or otherwise part of, thesubstrate portion that may serve as, or facilitate the function of, theheating assembly. Some examples of various heating members and elementsare described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,473 to Worm et al.

Some non-limiting examples of various heating element configurationsinclude configurations in which a heating element is placed in proximitywith the aerosol source member 304. For instance, in some examples, atleast a portion of a heating element may surround at least a portion ofan aerosol source member. In other examples, one or more heatingelements may be positioned adjacent an exterior of an aerosol sourcemember when inserted in the control body 302. In other examples, atleast a portion of a heating element may penetrate at least a portion ofan aerosol source member (such as, for example, one or more prongsand/or spikes that penetrate an aerosol source member), when the aerosolsource member is inserted into the control body. In some instances, theaerosol precursor composition may include a structure in contact with,or a plurality of beads or particles imbedded in, or otherwise part of,the aerosol precursor composition that may serve as, or facilitate thefunction of the heating element.

FIG. 5 illustrates a front view of an aerosol delivery device 300according to an example implementation of the present disclosure, andFIG. 6 illustrates a sectional view through the aerosol delivery deviceof FIG. 5 . In particular, the control body 302 of the depictedimplementation may comprise a housing 516 that includes an opening 518defined in an engaging end thereof, a flow sensor 520 (e.g., a puffsensor or pressure switch), a control component 522 (e.g., processingcircuitry, etc.), a power source 524 (e.g., battery, supercapacitor),and an end cap that includes an light source 526 (e.g., a LED). Thepower source may be rechargeable, and the control body may includecharging circuitry coupled to and configured to controllably charge thepower source.

In one implementation, the light source 526 may comprise one or moreLEDs, quantum dot-based LEDs or the like. The light source can be incommunication with the control component 522 and be illuminated, forexample, when a user draws on the aerosol source member 304, whencoupled to the control body 302, as detected by the flow sensor 520.

The control body 302 of the depicted implementation includes one or moreheating assemblies 528 (individually or collectively referred to aheating assembly) configured to heat the aerosol precursor composition410 of the aerosol source member 304. Although the heating assembly ofvarious implementations of the present disclosure may take a variety offorms, in the particular implementation depicted in FIGS. 5 and 6 , theheating assembly comprises an outer cylinder 530 and a heating element532 (aerosol production component), which in this implementationcomprises a plurality of heater prongs that extend from a receiving base534 (in various configurations, the heating assembly or morespecifically the heater prongs may be referred to as a heater). In thedepicted implementation, the outer cylinder comprises a double-walledvacuum tube constructed of stainless steel so as to maintain heatgenerated by the heater prongs within the outer cylinder, and moreparticularly, maintain heat generated by heater prongs within theaerosol precursor composition. In various implementations, the heaterprongs may be constructed of one or more conductive materials,including, but not limited to, copper, aluminum, platinum, gold, silver,iron, steel, brass, bronze, graphite, or any combination thereof.

As illustrated, the heating assembly 528 may extend proximate anengagement end of the housing 516, and may be configured tosubstantially surround a portion of the heated end 406 of the aerosolsource member 304 that includes the aerosol precursor composition 410.In such a manner, the heating assembly may define a generally tubularconfiguration. As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the heating element 532(e.g., plurality of heater prongs) is surrounded by the outer cylinder530 to create a receiving chamber 536. In such a manner, in variousimplementations the outer cylinder may comprise a nonconductiveinsulating material and/or construction including, but not limited to,an insulating polymer (e.g., plastic or cellulose), glass, rubber,ceramic, porcelain, a double-walled vacuum structure, or anycombinations thereof.

In some implementations, one or more portions or components of theheating assembly 528 may be combined with, packaged with, and/orintegral with (e.g., embedded within) the aerosol precursor composition410. For example, in some implementations the aerosol precursorcomposition may be formed of a material as described above and mayinclude one or more conductive materials mixed therein. In some of theseimplementations, contacts may be connected directly to the aerosolprecursor composition such that, when the aerosol source member isinserted into the receiving chamber of the control body, the contactsmake electrical connection with the electrical energy source.Alternatively, the contacts may be integral with the electrical energysource and may extend into the receiving chamber such that, when theaerosol source member is inserted into the receiving chamber of thecontrol body, the contacts make electrical connection with the aerosolprecursor composition. Because of the presence of the conductivematerial in the aerosol precursor composition, the application of powerfrom the electrical energy source to the aerosol precursor compositionallows electrical current to flow and thus produce heat from theconductive material. Thus, in some implementations the heating elementmay be described as being integral with the aerosol precursorcomposition. As a non-limiting example, graphite or other suitable,conductive material may be mixed with, embedded in, or otherwise presentdirectly on or within the material forming the aerosol precursorcomposition to make the heating element integral with the medium.

As noted above, in the illustrated implementation, the outer cylinder530 may also serve to facilitate proper positioning of the aerosolsource member 304 when the aerosol source member is inserted into thehousing 516. In various implementations, the outer cylinder of theheating assembly 528 may engage an internal surface of the housing toprovide for alignment of the heating assembly with respect to thehousing. Thereby, as a result of the fixed coupling between the heatingassembly, a longitudinal axis of the heating assembly may extendsubstantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the housing. Inparticular, the support cylinder may extend from the opening 518 of thehousing to the receiving base 534 to create the receiving chamber 536.

The heated end 406 of the aerosol source member 304 is sized and shapedfor insertion into the control body 302. In various implementations, thereceiving chamber 536 of the control body may be characterized as beingdefined by a wall with an inner surface and an outer surface, the innersurface defining the interior volume of the receiving chamber. Forexample, in the depicted implementations, the outer cylinder 530 definesan inner surface defining the interior volume of the receiving chamber.In the illustrated implementation, an inner diameter of the outercylinder may be slightly larger than or approximately equal to an outerdiameter of a corresponding aerosol source member (e.g., to create asliding fit) such that the outer cylinder is configured to guide theaerosol source member into the proper position (e.g., lateral position)with respect to the control body. Thus, the largest outer diameter (orother dimension depending upon the specific cross-sectional shape of theimplementations) of the aerosol source member may be sized to be lessthan the inner diameter (or other dimension) at the inner surface of thewall of the open end of the receiving chamber in the control body. Insome implementations, the difference in the respective diameters may besufficiently small so that the aerosol source member fits snugly intothe receiving chamber, and frictional forces prevent the aerosol sourcemember from being moved without an applied force. On the other hand, thedifference may be sufficient to allow the aerosol source member o slideinto or out of the receiving chamber without requiring undue force.

In the illustrated implementation, the control body 302 is configuredsuch that when the aerosol source member 304 is inserted into thecontrol body, the heating element 532 (e.g., heater prongs) is locatedin the approximate radial center of at least a portion of the aerosolprecursor composition 410 of the heated end 406 of the aerosol sourcemember. In such a manner, when used in conjunction with a solid orsemi-solid aerosol precursor composition, the heater prongs may be indirect contact with the aerosol precursor composition. In otherimplementations, such as when used in conjunction with an extrudedaerosol precursor composition that defines a tube structure, the heaterprongs may be located inside of a cavity defined by an inner surface ofthe extruded tube structure, and would not contact the inner surface ofthe extruded tube structure.

During use, the consumer initiates heating of the heating assembly 528,and in particular, the heating element 532 that is adjacent the aerosolprecursor composition 410 (or a specific layer thereof). Heating of theaerosol precursor composition releases the inhalable substance withinthe aerosol source member 304 so as to yield the inhalable substance.When the consumer inhales on the mouth end 408 of the aerosol sourcemember, air is drawn into the aerosol source member through an airintake 538 such as openings or apertures in the control body 302. Thecombination of the drawn air and the released inhalable substance isinhaled by the consumer as the drawn materials exit the mouth end of theaerosol source member. In some implementations, to initiate heating, theconsumer may manually actuate a pushbutton or similar component thatcauses the heating element of the heating assembly to receive electricalenergy from the battery or other energy source. The electrical energymay be supplied for a pre-determined length of time or may be manuallycontrolled.

In some implementations, flow of electrical energy does notsubstantially proceed in between puffs on the device 300 (althoughenergy flow may proceed to maintain a baseline temperature greater thanambient temperature—e.g., a temperature that facilitates rapid heatingto the active heating temperature). In the depicted implementation,however, heating is initiated by the puffing action of the consumerthrough use of one or more sensors, such as flow sensor 520. Once thepuff is discontinued, heating will stop or be reduced. When the consumerhas taken a sufficient number of puffs so as to have released asufficient amount of the inhalable substance (e.g., an amount sufficientto equate to a typical smoking experience), the aerosol source member304 may be removed from the control body 302 and discarded. In someimplementations, further sensing elements, such as capacitive sensingelements and other sensors, may be used as discussed in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/707,461 to Phillips et al., which isincorporated herein by reference.

In various implementations, the aerosol source member 304 may be formedof any material suitable for forming and maintaining an appropriateconformation, such as a tubular shape, and for retaining therein theaerosol precursor composition 410. In some implementations, the aerosolsource member may be formed of a single wall or, in otherimplementations, multiple walls, and may be formed of a material(natural or synthetic) that is heat resistant so as to retain itsstructural integrity—e.g., does not degrade—at least at a temperaturethat is the heating temperature provided by the electrical heatingelement, as further discussed herein. While in some implementations, aheat resistant polymer may be used, in other implementations, theaerosol source member may be formed from paper, such as a paper that issubstantially straw-shaped. As further discussed herein, the aerosolsource member may have one or more layers associated therewith thatfunction to substantially prevent movement of vapor therethrough. In oneexample implementation, an aluminum foil layer may be laminated to onesurface of the aerosol source member. Ceramic materials also may beused. In further implementations, an insulating material may be used soas not to unnecessarily move heat away from the aerosol precursorcomposition. Further example types of components and materials that maybe used to provide the functions described above or be used asalternatives to the materials and components noted above can be those ofthe types set forth in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2010/00186757 to Crookset al., 2010/00186757 to Crooks et al., and 2011/0041861 to Sebastian etal., all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In the depicted implementation, the control body 302 includes a controlcomponent 522 that controls the various functions of the aerosoldelivery device 300, including providing power to the electrical heatingelement 532. For example, the control component may include processingcircuitry (which may be connected to further components, as furtherdescribed herein) that is connected by electrically conductive wires(not shown) to the power source 524. In various implementations, theprocessing circuitry may control when and how the heating assembly 528,and particularly the heater prongs, receives electrical energy to heatthe aerosol precursor composition 410 for release of the inhalablesubstance for inhalation by a consumer. In some implementations, suchcontrol may be activated by a flow sensor 520 as described in greaterdetail above.

As seen in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the heating assembly 528 of the depictedimplementation comprises an outer cylinder 530 and a heating element 532(e.g., plurality of heater prongs) that extend from a receiving base534. In some implementations, such as those wherein the aerosolprecursor composition 410 comprises a tube structure, the heater prongsmay be configured to extend into a cavity defined by the inner surfaceof the aerosol precursor composition. In other implementations, such asthe depicted implementation wherein the aerosol precursor compositioncomprises a solid or semi-solid, the plurality of heater prongs areconfigured to penetrate into the aerosol precursor composition containedin the heated end 406 of the aerosol source member 304 when the aerosolsource member is inserted into the control body 302. In suchimplementations, one or more of the components of the heating assembly,including the heater prongs and/or the receiving base, may beconstructed of a non-stick or stick-resistant material, for example,certain aluminum, copper, stainless steel, carbon steel, and ceramicmaterials. In other implementations, one or more of the components ofthe heating assembly, including the heater prongs and/or the receivingbase, may include a non-stick coating, including, for example, apolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coating, such as Teflon®, or othercoatings, such as a stick-resistant enamel coating, or a ceramiccoating, such as Greblon®, or Thermolon™.

In addition, although in the depicted implementation there are multipleheater prongs 532 that are substantially equally distributed about thereceiving base 534, it should be noted that in other implementations,any number of heater prongs may be used, including as few as one, withany other suitable spatial configuration. Furthermore, in variousimplementations the length of the heater prongs may vary. For example,in some implementations the heater prongs may comprise smallprojections, while in other implementations the heater prongs may extendany portion of the length of the receiving chamber 536, including up toabout 25%, up to about 50%, up to about 75%, and up to about the fulllength of the receiving chamber. In still other implementations, theheating assembly 528 may take on other configurations. Examples of otherheater configurations that may be adapted for use in the presentinvention per the discussion provided above can be found in U.S. Pat.No. 5,060,671 to Counts et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,894 to Deevi et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,498 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,460 toSprinkel Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,075 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat.No. 5,353,813 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,936 to Deevi et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,850 to Das, U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,656 to Das, U.S.Pat. No. 5,498,855 to Deevi et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,225 toHajaligol, U.S. Pat. No. 5,665,262 to Hajaligol, and U.S. Pat. No.5,573,692 to Das et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,368 to Fleischhauer etal., which are incorporated herein by reference.

In various implementations, the control body 302 may include an airintake 538 (e.g., one or more openings or apertures) therein forallowing entrance of ambient air into the interior of the receivingchamber 536. In such a manner, in some implementations the receivingbase 534 may also include an air intake. Thus, in some implementationswhen a consumer draws on the mouth end of the aerosol source member 304,air can be drawn through the air intake of the control body and thereceiving base into the receiving chamber, pass into the aerosol sourcemember, and be drawn through the aerosol precursor composition 410 ofthe aerosol source member for inhalation by the consumer. In someimplementations, the drawn air carries the inhalable substance throughthe optional filter 414 and out of an opening at the mouth end 408 ofthe aerosol source member. With the heating element 532 positionedinside the aerosol precursor composition, the heater prongs may beactivated to heat the aerosol precursor composition and cause release ofthe inhalable substance through the aerosol source member.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 in particular,various implementations of the present disclosure employ a conductiveheater to heat the aerosol precursor composition 410. As also indicatedabove, various other implementations employ an induction heater to heatthe aerosol precursor composition. In some of these implementations, theheating assembly 528 may be configured as an induction heater thatcomprises a transformer with an induction transmitter and an inductionreceiver. In implementations in which the heating assembly is configuredas the induction heater, the outer cylinder 530 may be configured as theinduction transmitter, and the heating element 532 (e.g., plurality ofheater prongs) that extend from the receiving base 534 may be configuredas the induction receiver. In various implementations, one or both ofthe induction transmitter and induction receiver may be located in thecontrol body 302 and/or the aerosol source member 304.

In various implementations, the outer cylinder 530 and heating element532 as the induction transmitter and induction receiver may beconstructed of one or more conductive materials, and in furtherimplementations the induction receiver may be constructed of aferromagnetic material including, but not limited to, cobalt, iron,nickel, and combinations thereof In one example implementation, the foilmaterial is constructed of a conductive material and the heater prongsare constructed of a ferromagnetic material. In various implementations,the receiving base may be constructed of a non-conductive and/orinsulating material.

The outer cylinder 530 as the induction transmitter may include alaminate with a foil material that surrounds a support cylinder. In someimplementations, the foil material may include an electrical traceprinted thereon, such as, for example, one or more electrical tracesthat may, in some implementations, form a helical coil pattern when thefoil material is positioned around the heating element 532 as theinduction receiver. The foil material and support cylinder may eachdefine a tubular configuration. The support cylinder may be configuredto support the foil material such that the foil material does not moveinto contact with, and thereby short-circuit with, the heater prongs. Insuch a manner, the support cylinder may comprise a nonconductivematerial, which may be substantially transparent to an oscillatingmagnetic field produced by the foil material. In variousimplementations, the foil material may be imbedded in, or otherwisecoupled to, the support cylinder. In the illustrated implementation, thefoil material is engaged with an outer surface of the support cylinder;however, in other implementations, the foil material may be positionedat an inner surface of the support cylinder or be fully imbedded in thesupport cylinder.

The foil material of the outer cylinder 530 may be configured to createan oscillating magnetic field (e.g., a magnetic field that variesperiodically with time) when alternating current is directed through it.The heater prongs of the heating element 532 may be at least partiallylocated or received within the outer cylinder and include a conductivematerial. By directing alternating current through the foil material,eddy currents may be generated in the heater prongs via induction. Theeddy currents flowing through the resistance of the material definingthe heater prongs may heat it by Joule heating (i.e., through the Jouleeffect). The heater prongs may be wirelessly heated to form an aerosolfrom the aerosol precursor composition 410 positioned in proximity tothe heater prongs.

Other implementations of the aerosol delivery device, control body andaerosol source member are described in the above-cited U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/916,834 to Sur et al.; U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/916,696 to Sur; and U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/836,086 to Sur.

As described above, the aerosol delivery device of exampleimplementations may include various electronic components in the contextof an electronic cigarette, heat-electronic cigarette or heat-not-burndevice, or even in the case of a device that includes the functionalityof both an electronic cigarette and heat-not-burn device. FIGS. 7 and 8illustrate circuit diagrams of aerosol delivery devices 700, 800 thatmay be or incorporate functionality of any one or more of aerosoldelivery devices 100, 300 according to various example implementationsof the present disclosure.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the aerosol delivery device 700, 800includes a control body 702 with a control component 704 (withprocessing circuitry 706) and a power source 708 that may correspond toor include functionality of respective ones of the control body 102,302, control component 208, 522, and power source 212, 524. The aerosoldelivery device also includes a heating element 710 that may correspondto or include functionality of heating element 228, 534. In someimplementations, aerosol delivery device and in particular the controlbody includes terminals 712 configured to connect the power source 704to the aerosol delivery device or in particular the control body, andthe power source is configured to provide an output voltage. The controlbody may include the heating element or second terminals 714 configuredto connect the heating element to the control body.

In some examples, the aerosol delivery device 700, 800 includes a sensor716 that may correspond to or include functionality of sensor 210, 520.The sensor may be a pressure sensor configured to produce measurementsof pressure caused by a flow of air through at least a portion of theaerosol delivery device, or otherwise receive input to indicate use ofthe aerosol delivery device. The sensor is configured to convert themeasurements/user input to corresponding electrical signals, which mayinclude conversion of analog to digital. In some examples, this sensormay be a digital sensor, digital pressure sensor or the like, somesuitable examples of which are manufactured by Murata Manufacturing Co.,Ltd.

The processing circuitry 706 may be configured to switchably connect theoutput voltage from the power source 708 to a load 718 including theheating element 710 and thereby power the heating element. Moreparticularly, for example, the processing circuitry may be configured toreceive the corresponding electrical signals from the sensor 716, and inresponse connect the power source to the load including the heatingelement and thereby power the heating element. The processing circuitrymay be configured to process the corresponding electrical signals todetermine an on/off condition, and may modulate switching connection ofthe output voltage of the power source to the load in proportion to themeasurements/user input produced by the sensor.

In some examples, the control component 704 further includes a switch720 such as a high-side load switch (LS) coupled to and between thepower source 706 and the heating element 710 (or the load including theheating element), and controllable by the processing circuitry 706 toconnect and disconnect the output voltage from power source 708 to andfrom the load including the heating element. In some more particularexamples, the processing circuitry may be configured to output apulse-width modulation (PWM) signal during a heating time period tocause the switch to switchably connect and disconnect the output voltage(of the power source) to power the heating element. The heating timeperiod may be initiated by a user puff that causes a flow of air throughat least a portion of the aerosol delivery device 700. The PWM signalincludes pulses over which the output voltage to the heating element maybe connected, and between which the output voltage to the heatingelement may be disconnected.

In some examples, the processing circuitry 706 may be configured tomeasure a heating current I_(HEATER) through the heating element 710, aheating voltage V_(HEATER) across the heating element, and/or the outputvoltage V_(OUTPUT) from the power source 708. The heating current may bemeasured in a number of different manners, such as from current-sensecircuitry 722, as shown in FIG. 7 . Similarly, as also shown in FIG. 7 ,the heating voltage may be measured in a number of different manners,such as using a voltage divider 724 configured to reduce the heatingvoltage to the processing circuitry. As also shown, in both FIGS. 7 and8 , the aerosol delivery device may include a (second) voltage dividerfrom which the processing circuitry may measure the output voltageV_(OUTPUT) from the power source 708. In some examples, the processingcircuitry may operate on the actual heating current, heating voltageand/or output voltage (or reduced voltages), or the processing circuitrymay include one or more analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) configuredto convert the actual current and voltages to respective digitalequivalents.

As shown in FIG. 8 , in some examples, the processing circuitry 706 ofthe aerosol delivery device 800 may be configured to output a puke ofknown current I_(KNOWN) to the heating element 710, which may be a fixedcurrent in some examples. In some of these examples, this known currentmay equal or substantially equal the heating current I_(HEATER) throughthe heating element 710, in which case the processing circuitry maymeasure the heating current without current-sense circuitry 722. Also insome of these examples, the known current may be current limited such asthrough use of appropriate current-limiting circuitry 826.

In some examples of the aerosol delivery device 800 of FIG. 8 , theheating element 710 may have a resistance that is variable andproportional to a temperature of the heating element. The processingcircuitry, then, may be further configured to output the pulse of knowncurrent I_(KNOWN) to the heating element 710, and measure voltage acrossthe heating element—the heating voltage V_(HEATER), between adjacentpulses of the PWM signal. FIG, 9 illustrates an example PWM signal 900including pulses 902 over which the output voltage V_(OUTPUT) to theheating element may be connected, and between which the output voltageto the heating element may be disconnected. FIG. 10 illustrates theexample PWM signal superimposed with measurements of V_(HEATER) betweenpulses when I_(KNOWN) is output to the heating element. The pulsesthemselves cause voltage across the heating element to be produced, andthe known current may be selected such that the voltage is less thanone-half the output voltage provided by the power source.

In some examples, the pukes 902 of the known current may be interspersedbetween the pulses of the PWM signal 900. In some of these examples, theprocessing circuitry 706 may be configured to measure the voltage acrossthe heating element V_(HEATER) for each of the pulses.

Returning to FIG. 8 , the processing circuitry 706 may be configured tocalculate the resistance of the heating element R_(HEATER) based on theknown current and the voltage, such as in the following manner:

R _(HEATER) =V _(HEATER) /I _(KNOWN)  (1)

The processing circuitry may then calculate the temperature of theheating element T_(HEATER) based on the resistance, such as according tothe following:

T _(HEATER) =T _(NOM)+((R _(NOM) ×R _(HEATER))/(TCR×R _(NOM)))  (2)

In the preceding, T_(NOM) is an ambient or nominal temperature of theheating element, R_(NOM) is the nominal resistance of the heatingelement at T_(NOM), and TCR is the temperature coefficient of resistanceof the heating element.

In some examples, the processing circuitry 706 may calculate thetemperature of the heating element 710 for each of the pulses 902 of theknown current over the heating time period. The processing, circuitrymay begin when the heating time period is initiated, such as in responseto a user puff that causes a flow of air through at least a portion ofthe aerosol delivery device, which may be measured by the sensor 716.The aerosol delivery device may thereby account for any remaining heatat the heating element from a prior heating time period.

The processing circuitry 706 may be further configured to adjust a dutycycle of the PWM signal 900 when the temperature deviates from apredetermined target. This may include the processing circuitryconfigured to increase or decrease the duty cycle of the PWM signal whenthe temperature is respectively below or above the predetermined target.That is, the processing circuitry may increase the duty cycle when thetemperature is below the predetermined target, and decrease the dutycycle when the temperature is above the predetermined target. In someexamples, the processing circuitry may repeatedly calculate thetemperature of the heating element over the heating time period. Theprocessing circuitry may begin when the heating time period isinitiated, such as in response to a user puff that causes a flow of airthrough at least a portion of the aerosol delivery device, which may bemeasured by the sensor 716. The aerosol delivery device may therebyaccount for any remaining heat at the heating element from a priorheating time period.

In some examples, the target may be a target set point temperature. Inother examples, the target may be a range of temperatures. One exampleof a suitable range of temperatures is reflected by a target set pointtemperature+/−an acceptable tolerance from the target set pointtemperature. A suitable range of temperatures may also be used toreflect an amount of added hysteresis. In some of these examples, theprocessing circuitry 706 may increase the duty cycle when thetemperature is below a first target set point temperature, and decreasethe duty cycle when the temperature is above a second target set pointtemperature that is higher than the first target set point temperature.

In some examples, the target may vary over time in accordance with atemperature or power control profile that may be applied during a timeperiod of usage. In some examples, the target may vary or otherwise bevariable according to the measurement of pressure caused by airflowthrough at least a portion of the housing of the aerosol delivery device700 (e.g., housing 206, 516), produced by the sensor 716. In moreparticular examples, the target may be variable according to apredetermined relationship between pressure and the target. Examples ofsuitable predetermined relationships may be described by a stepfunction, a linear function, a non-linear function, or a combinationthereof.

In some examples, the heating time period may be divided into multipleportions, and the target may differ for the different portions. Thetarget may include a first target set point temperature or profile for afirst portion of the heating time period after the heating time periodis initiated, and a. second target set point temperature or profile fora second portion of the heating time period. In a more particularexample, the target may include a target set point temperature for afirst portion of the heating time period, and a profile in which thetarget varies with pressure for a second portion of the heating timeperiod.

In some examples, outside the heating time period in which the PWMsignal is absent and the output voltage to the heating element 710 isdisconnected, the processing circuitry 706 may be further configured tooutput a second pulse of the known current to the heating element, andmeasure a second voltage across the heating element. The processingcircuitry may be configured to calculate the nominal resistance of theheating element R_(NOM) based on the known current I_(KNOWN) and thesecond voltage V_(HEATER), such as according to equation (1) above. Theprocessing circuitry may calculate the nominal temperature of theheating element T_(NOM) based on nominal resistance, such as accordingto the following:

T _(NOM)=(((R _(NOM) /R _(ROOM))−1)/TCR)+T _(ROOM)  (3)

In equation (3), T_(ROOM) refers to room temperature (e.g., 20° C.), andR_(ROOM) refers to resistance of the heating element at T_(ROOM). Inother examples, the nominal temperature may be determined using aseparate component such as a pressure sensor, microcontroller unit(MCU), independent negative temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC), orinfrared temperature sensor configured. to directly measure thetemperature. Regardless of how the nominal temperature is determined,the processing circuitry may then be configured to calculate thetemperature of the heating element further based on the nominaltemperature of the heating element, such as in the manner describedabove.

In some examples, the processing circuitry 706 of the aerosol deliverydevice 700, 800 may be further configured to calculate—or repeatedlycalculate—a quantity of heat at the heating element 710 during theheating time period, and execute a lockout of the heating element whenthe quantity of heat at the heating element is greater than a thresholdquantity of heat. This quantity of heat may be measured in joules,although the quantity of heat may be measured in other units such asBritish Thermal Units (BTUs), calories or the like.

In some examples, again, the heating time period may be initiated by auser puff that causes a flow of air through at least a portion of theaerosol delivery device 700. In some of these examples, calculation ofthe quantity of heat at the heating element includes the processingcircuitry 706 configured to measure the heating current I_(HEATER)through and heating voltage V_(HEATER) across the heating element.Again, the heating current may be measured in a number of differentmanners, such as from current-sense circuitry 722 as shown in FIG. 7 .Similarly, the heating voltage may be measured in a number of differentmanners, such as using a voltage divider 724 configured to reduce theheating voltage to the processing circuitry.

Regardless of the exact manner by which the heating current I_(HEATER)and heating voltage V_(HEATER) are measured, in some examples, theprocessing circuitry 706 may be configured to calculate a first quantityof heat added to the heating element 710 based on the heating current,the heating voltage, an elapsed time, and the duty cycle of the PWMsignal, such as according to the following:

Q ₁ =V _(HEATER) ×I _(HEATER)×Time×Duty  (4)

In equation (4), Q₁ is the first quantity of heat, Time is the elapsedtime, and Duty is the duty cycle of the PWM signal.

The processing circuitry 706 may be configured to determine a secondquantity of heat removed from the heating element by forced convectiondue to the flow of air caused by the user puff, which may be representedas Q₂. And the processing circuitry may he configured to calculate thequantity of heat at the heating element based on the first quantity ofheat and the second quantity of heat, such as according to the followingequation (5) in which Q_(HEATER) is the quantity of heat at the heatingelement:

Q _(HEATER) =Q ₁ −Q ₂  (5)

In some examples, calculation of Q_(HEATER) under normal puff conditionsmay involve use of volumetric flowrate of a puff and therefore heat lossby forced convection, Q₂. The flowrate may be preset or otherwisedetermined from empirical studies or other parametric inputs to theprocessing circuitry 706. The flowrate may be extrapolated by an analogrepresentation of puff pressure (the sensor 716 converting true pressureto an analog signal) or by the addition of another sensor that mayotherwise provide an analog representation of airflow through theaerosol delivery device 700, 800. The signal from the sensor, then, maybe used to pull an empirically-derived value from a look-up table. Oneexample of a suitable sensor is a MEMS microphone such as that describedin U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2016/0128389 to Lamb et al., which is incorporatedherein by reference. Another example of a suitable sensor is an absoluteflow meter (or flow sensor) in the flow path and configured to measurethe volumetric flowrate of a puff and therefore heat loss by forcedconvection.

The processing circuitry 706 of the aerosol delivery device 700, 800 maybe configured to execute a lockout of the heating element 710 when thequantity of heat at the heating element Q_(HEATER) is greater than athreshold quantity of heat. Lockout of the heating element may beimplemented in a number of different manners. The processing circuitrymay suppress the PWM signal to the switch 720 and thereby keep theoutput voltage from the power source 708 to the heating elementdisconnected until the quantity of heat at the heating element is aquantity less than the threshold quantity of heat. In some examples,lockout of the heating element may include the processingcircuitry-configured to interrupt the PWM signal to cause the switch todisconnect the output voltage to the heating element, and keep theoutput voltage from the power source to the heating element disconnecteduntil the quantity of heat at the heating element is the quantity lessthan the threshold quantity of heat.

Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the processingcircuitry 706 may output an enable signal to a second switch 726connected between the heating element 710 and circuit ground, causingthe second switch to close and thereby enable current flow through theheating element. Lockout of the heating element, then, may include theprocessing circuitry configured to suppress the enable signal to causethe second switch to open and thereby cause an open-circuit condition atthe heating element. The second switch may then be kept open until thequantity of heat at the heating element is the quantity less than thethreshold quantity of heat.

In some further examples, lockout of the heating element 710 furtherincludes the processing circuitry 706 configured to determine a thirdquantity of heat removed. from the heating element by natural convectiondue to exposure of the heating element to ambient air, which may berepresented as Q₃. This heat removal may often be far less than the heatremoved by forced convection caused by the user puff (i.e., Q₃«Q₂). Theprocessing circuitry may be configured to calculate a quantity of anyremaining heat at the heating element from the heating time period,based on the quantity of heat at the heating element, and the thirdquantity of heat, such as in accordance with the following equation (6)in which Q_(HEATER_REMAIN) is the quantity of any remaining heat at theheating element:

Q _(HEATER_REMAIN) =Q _(HEATER) −Q ₃  (6)

The processing circuitry may then be configured to keep the outputvoltage from the power source 708 to the heating element disconnecteduntil the quantity of any remaining heat at the heating element is thequantity less than the threshold quantity of heat.

In some examples, the user puff is one of a plurality of user puffs thatalso includes a second user puff that causes a second flow of airthrough at least a portion of the aerosol delivery device 700, and thatinitiates a second heating time period. In some of these examples,between the heating time period and the second heating time period, theprocessing circuitry 706 may be further configured to determine Q₃, andcalculate the quantity of any remaining heat at the heating element 710from the heating time period, such as according to equation (6) above.The processing circuitry, then, may be further configured to calculatethe quantity of heat at the heating element during the second heatingtime period, based on the quantity of any remaining heat at the heatingelement from the heating time period, such as according to equation (7):

Q _(HEATER(2)) =Q _(HEATER_REMAIN) +Q ₁₍₂₎ −Q ₂₍₂₎  (7)

In the preceding the parenthetical (2) indicates quantities during thesecond heating time period for the second user puff.

Similar to heat loss by forced convection, in some examples, calculationof Q_(HEATER_REMAIN) may involve an understanding of heat loss due toexposure of the heating element to ambient air, Q₃. Resistance of theheating element R_(HEATER) may be periodically measured or calculatedsuch as in the manner above, and from which Q₃ may be determined, suchas described above. In some examples, Q₃ may be simply ignored as theheating time period may be relatively short compared to that required tomake ambient losses significant (Q₂»Q₃).

In some examples, the processing circuitry 706 may include separate anddistinct processors to power the heating element 710, and monitor(calculate) and execute the lockout of the heating element. FIG. 11illustrates processing circuitry 1100 that in some examples maycorrespond to processing circuitry 706. As shown in FIG. 11 , theprocessing circuitry may include a processor 1102 configured to output aPWM signal during the heating time period to cause the switch 720 toswitchably connect and disconnect the output voltage to the heatingelement to power the heating element. The processing circuitry may alsoinclude a second processor 1104 configured to output an enable signaldesigned to enable the PWM signal to pass to the switch. In this regard,the PWM signal and enable signal may be input to an AND gate 1106configured to implement a logical conjunction in which the PWM signal isoutput only when the enable signal is provided. To execute the lockoutin these implementations, the second processor may suppress the enablesignal to thereby cause the AND gate to suppress the PWM signal to theswitch.

FIG. 12 illustrates processing circuitry 1200 that in other examples maycorrespond to processing circuitry 706, particularly in implementationsin which the aerosol delivery device 700, 800 includes the second switch726 connected between the heating element 710 and circuit ground. Inthese example implementations, the processor 1102 may output the PWMsignal during the heating time period to cause the switch 720 toswitchably connect and disconnect the output voltage to the heatingelement to power the heating element. The second processor 1104 mayoutput an enable signal to the second switch 726 to enable current flowthrough the heating element, and suppress the enable signal duringlockout to cause the second switch to open and thereby cause anopen-circuit condition at the heating element.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating various operations in a method 1300of controlling an aerosol delivery device 700, 800, according to exampleimplementations of the present disclosure. As shown at block 1302, themethod may include switchably connecting and disconnecting the outputvoltage to the heating element 710 to power the heating elementaccording to a PWM signal. The PWM signal includes pulses over which theoutput voltage to the heating element is connected, and between whichthe output voltage to the heating element is disconnected.

The method 1300 may include outputting a pulse of known current to theheating element, and measuring voltage across the heating element 710,between adjacent pulses of the PWM signal, as shown at block 1304. Themethod may include calculating the resistance of the heating elementbased on the known current and the voltage, and calculating thetemperature of the heating element based on the resistance, as shown atblocks 1306 and 1308. And the method may include adjusting a duty cycleof the PWM signal when the temperature deviates from a predeterminedtarget, as shown at block 1310.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating various operations in another method1400 of controlling an aerosol delivery device 700, 800, according toexample implementations of the present disclosure. Similar to before,the method may include switchable connecting and disconnecting theoutput voltage to the heating element 710 to power the heating elementaccording to a PWM signal, as shown at block 1402. Again, the PWM signalincludes pulses over which the output voltage to the heating element isconnected, and between which the output voltage to the heating elementis disconnected. As also shown, the method may include calculating aquantity of heat at the heating element during the heating time period,and executing a lockout of the heating element when the quantity of heatat the heating element is greater than a threshold quantity of heat, asshown at blocks 1404 and 1406.

The foregoing description of use of the article(s) can be applied to thevarious example implementations described herein through minormodifications, which can be apparent to the person of skill in the artin light of the further disclosure provided herein. The abovedescription of use, however, is not intended to limit the use of thearticle but is provided to comply with all necessary requirements ofdisclosure of the present disclosure. Any of the elements shown in thearticle(s) illustrated in FIGS. 1-12 or as otherwise described above maybe included in an aerosol delivery device according to the presentdisclosure.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure will cometo mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertainshaving the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoingdescriptions and the associated figures. Therefore, it is to beunderstood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specificimplementations disclosed herein and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a powersource configured to provide an output voltage usable by the aerosoldelivery device; and processing circuitry powerable by the power sourceand configured to: measure properties of a circuit of the aerosoldelivery device; and output a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal, basedat least on the measured properties of the circuit, to cause the outputvoltage to be switchably connected and disconnected to the circuit toperform a function of the aerosol delivery device.
 2. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 1, further comprising a switch coupleablebetween the power source and the circuit, wherein the processingcircuitry is coupled to the switch, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to output the PWM signal to the switch to cause the switch toconnect and disconnect the power source to the circuit to therebyconnect the output voltage to the circuit to power the circuit.
 3. Theaerosol delivery device of claim 2, wherein the PWM signal includespulses over which the output voltage to the circuit is connected, andbetween which the output voltage to the circuit is disconnected.
 4. Theaerosol delivery device of claim 1, wherein the circuit comprises aheating element that has a resistance which is variable and proportionalto a temperature of the heating element, and wherein the propertiesmeasured by the processing circuitry includes a voltage across theheating element, and wherein the function of the aerosol delivery deviceis to produce an aerosol using the heating element.
 5. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 4, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to output a pulse of known current to the heating element,and measure the voltage across the heating element, between adjacentpulses of the PWM signal, and wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to calculate the resistance of the heating elementbased on the known current and the voltage, calculate the temperature ofthe heating element based on the resistance, and adjust a duty cycle ofthe PWM signal when the temperature deviates from a predetermined targetby increasing or decreasing the duty cycle of the PWM signal when thetemperature is respectively below or above the predetermined target. 6.The aerosol delivery device of claim 5, wherein the pulse of knowncurrent that is output to the heating element causes the voltage acrossthe heating element to be produced, and the known current is selectedsuch that the voltage is less than one-half the output voltage providedby the power source.
 7. The aerosol delivery device of claim 4, whereinduring a period in which the PWM signal is absent and the output voltageto the heating element is disconnected, the processing circuitry isfurther configured to output a second pulse of the known current to theheating element, and measure a second voltage across the heatingelement, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to calculate anominal resistance of the heating element based on the known current andthe second voltage, and calculate a nominal temperature of the heatingelement based on the nominal resistance, and wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to calculate the temperature of the heatingelement further based on the nominal temperature of the heating element.8. A method of controlling an aerosol delivery device comprising a powersource configured to provide an output voltage usable by the aerosoldelivery device, the method comprising: measuring properties of acircuit of the aerosol delivery device; and outputting a pulse-widthmodulation (PWM) signal, based at least on the measured properties ofthe circuit, to cause the output voltage to be switchably connected anddisconnected to the circuit to perform a function of the aerosoldelivery device.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the aerosol deliverydevice further comprises a switch coupled between the power source andthe circuit, the method further comprising: outputting the PWM signal tothe switch to cause the switch to connect and disconnect the powersource to the circuit to thereby connect the output voltage to thecircuit, wherein the function of the aerosol delivery device is toproduce an aerosol using the circuit.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe PWM signal includes pulses over which the output voltage to thecircuit is connected, and between which the output voltage to thecircuit is disconnected.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the circuitcomprises a heating element that has a resistance which is variable andproportional to a temperature of the heating element, and whereinmeasuring the properties of the circuit includes measuring a voltageacross the heating element, and wherein the function of the aerosoldelivery device is to produce an aerosol using the heating element. 12.The method of claim 11, further comprising: outputting a pulse of knowncurrent to the heating element, measuring the voltage across the heatingelement, between adjacent pulses of the PWM signal, calculating theresistance of the heating element based on the known current and thevoltage, calculating the temperature of the heating element based on theresistance, and adjusting a duty cycle of the PWM signal when thetemperature deviates from a predetermined target by increasing ordecreasing the duty cycle of the PWM signal when the temperature isrespectively below or above the predetermined target.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the pulse of known current that is output to theheating element causes the voltage across the heating element to beproduced, and the known current is selected such that the voltage isless than one-half the output voltage provided by the power source. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein during a period in which the PWM signalis absent and the output voltage to the heating element is disconnected,the method further comprises: outputting a second pulse of the knowncurrent to the heating element, measuring a second voltage across theheating element, calculating a nominal resistance of the heating elementbased on the known current and the second voltage, calculating a nominaltemperature of the heating element based on the nominal resistance, andcalculating the temperature of the heating element further based on thenominal temperature of the heating element.
 15. An aerosol deliverydevice comprising: a power source configured to provide an outputvoltage usable by the aerosol delivery device; and processing circuitrypowerable by the power source and configured to: calculate a quantity ofheat at a circuit of the aerosol delivery device; and cause the outputvoltage to be switchably connected and disconnected to the circuit byoutputting a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal based at least on thequantity of heat calculated, wherein the PWM signal includes pulses overwhich the output voltage to the circuit is connected, and between whichthe output voltage to the circuit is disconnected.
 16. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 15, wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to execute a lockout of the circuit when the quantity of heatis greater than a threshold quantity of heat.
 17. The aerosol deliverydevice of claim 16, wherein the circuit comprises a heating element, andwherein the processing circuitry is further configured to repeatedlycalculate the quantity of heat at the heating element during a heatingtime period.
 18. The aerosol delivery device of claim 17, wherein theprocessing circuitry being configured to execute the lockout of thecircuit includes the processing circuitry configured to at leastinterrupt the PWM signal to disconnect the output voltage to the heatingelement, and thereby execute a lockout of the heating element.
 19. Theaerosol delivery device of claim 18, wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to keep the output voltage to the heating elementdisconnected until the quantity of heat at the heating element is aquantity less than the threshold quantity of heat.
 20. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 15, wherein the circuit comprises a heatingelement, and wherein the processing circuitry configured to calculatethe quantity of heat at the circuit includes the processing circuitryconfigured to at least: measure a heating current through and a heatingvoltage across the heating element; calculate a first quantity of heatadded to the heating element based on the heating current, the heatingvoltage, an elapsed time, and a duty cycle of the PWM signal; determinea second quantity of heat removed from the heating element by forcedconvection due to a flow of air caused by a user puff on the aerosoldelivery device; and calculate the quantity of heat at the heatingelement based on the first quantity of heat and the second quantity ofheat.